The Mortal Games
by ThisIsLaur
Summary: Jace Herondale was a hunter. Clarissa Fray was a healer. Isabelle Lightwood was the mayor's daughter. Simon Lewis was a poor boy with no father. What do these four have in common? They've all been reaped into the 4th Quarter Quell.
1. Chapter 1

**_Jace Herondale was a hunter. Clarissa Fray was a healer. Isabelle Lightwood was the mayor's daughter. Simon Lewis was a poor boy with no father. What do these four have in common? They've all been reaped into the 4th Quarter Quell. _**

_Clary_

"It's okay, just breathe. This might sting," Clary said gently. Today's first patient was a young girl, only six years old. She had came into her and her mother's apothecary shop with a huge gash in her side. Clary had washed, stitched, and disinfected the wound all in a matter of an hour. The girl winced but smiled as Clary finished.

"Thanks Clary."

"You're welcome, Emma. Say hi to Julian for me, would you?", Clary replied. The blonde girl nodded and gave her a hug.

"Good luck, Clare."

Good luck. Clary had lost count of the multiple times that she had heard that today. It was the reaping day in District Twelve and everyone was on edge. It was Clary's last year and she hoped to make it through without being chosen. "Clary! We're closing up the shop now. It's almost one thirty," called her mother, Jocelyn, from the stairs. Clary put away her first aid supplies and entered her small room that was located above the shop.

She took a loose yellow dress from the single hook on the wall and pulled it over her head. Her handmade leather shoes sat below them and she slipped them onto her feet. She braided her long red hair in a loose rope that hung over her shoulder. "Mother! We need to leave," Clary called out of her doorway. Jocelyn emerged from the shop with her best friend, Luke Graymark.

"Clary! Take one more customer before you go?", Jocelyn suggested as she made her way into the shop.

"It better be quick," Clary muttered. She looked up into the familiar eyes of her best friend.

"Jace came in minutes ago with an injury similar to Emma's. You finished that in an hour, maybe you could do this a bit faster?"

Clary sighed. "It'll hurt."

"Luke and I are going to meet Miss Lewis in the square. Make sure that Jon comes with you," Jocelyn said, kissing her daughter on the head, "Good luck."

She left with Luke and Clary was left alone with Jace. "Well, where is it?"

He lifted up his shirt to reveal a bloody mess. Clary's eyes widened in surprise. "Damn. This is going to take a while," Clary muttered, "Sit down."

Jace took a seat in one of the chairs and Clary took her disinfectant out. "This is going to hurt," Clary warned him. She poured a bit onto one of her sponges and pressed it onto the wound. He hissed in pain and Clary moved it to the next spot. "Sorry, sorry."

Clary glanced at the clock on the wall. "Come back after the reaping and I'll stitch it up. I'm going to wrap it for now, but it needs more," she explained. She gestured for him to stand up and she circled him with the cloth roll, wrapping his torso with the sterile fabric. She tucked down the end to make sure it wouldn't unravel and pulled his shirt back down to cover it.

"I have to get my brother," Clary muttered, walking into the other room. "Jon! We have to leave," Clary urged her little brother. He was twelve, so it was his first year. She lead him into the shop and she left with her brother and Jace towards the square.

_Isabelle_

Isabelle Lightwood stood in the eighteen year old section of the district's square next to a redheaded girl. The introduction was the same as it was every year. Aline Penhallow was their escort, as she had been ever since she was a little girl. She wasn't worried; she barely had any entries. She came from a very privileged family. Her father was the mayor, after all.

"For this years quell, four tributes from one district will be able to win. There will be two males and two females reaped," Aline announced in her high pitched Capitol accent. She plucked a slip of paper from the bowl with her pointy nails and unfolded it.

"Jonathan Fray."

Isabelle breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't her brother, but the redhead next to her paled. Isabelle heard a faint voice on the other side of the square. "I volunteer!"

A cute blonde boy neared the stage. "What's your name?"

"Jace Herondale," he replied confidently. Aline nodded and chose the next name from the bowl.

"Simon Lewis."

The redhead's balance started to falter and Isabelle grabbed her arm. A tall and skinny boy took his place on stage. "And now, for the girls."

Aline reached into the bowl and took out a slip.

"Clarissa Fray."

The girl next to her straightened up and started to walk forward towards the stage. She stood shared a nervous glance with the blonde and she stood next to him.

"Isabelle Lightwood."

That was her name. She had been reaped. She tried to keep her composure as she walked towards the rest of this years tributes. The redhead, Clarissa, smiled faintly at her. "This years tributes," Aline exclaimed and she lead them from the stage.

_Jace_

"So I suppose you won't be stitching me up?", Jace joked, wrapping his arm across Clary's shoulders protectively. She glared at him harshly.

"Sorry."

"We're going to win," Clary stated confidently. Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Just like how you're over five feet tall, Simon could lift a five pound block, Jace could talk to a girl without flirting, and I could go for more than three days without showering. It's not possible and it's not going to happen."

"Actually, I'm five three," Clary corrected.

"And I can lift over five pounds easily, Lightwood," Simon mumbled.

"I don't flirt with anyone anymore," Jace exclaimed like he was insulted.

"Come this way, children," Aline squealed.

"I already hate her," Jace whispered to Clary. She giggled and Aline glared at her.

"Is something funny, Clarissa?"

Clary shook her head with a straight face. "Here you'll be meeting your mentors, Hodge and Amatis. They'll be helping you prepare," Aline continued, "Sit down."

"Aline will show you to your rooms. We will return to this car for dinner at seven," Amatis explained.

_Jace_

Jace sat on the bed and took in all that had happened that day. He had been out hunting this morning when he got the injury. He had forgotten about that in the rush of events that had taken place. He stood up from the bed and walked to he door. Remembering that Clary's room was across from his, he knocked on the door. She smiled when she saw him. "Hey."

"You think you could help me with this?", he asked, lifting up his shirt like he had this morning.

"Yeah, let me get some thread and a needle from someone," she said, brushing stray red curls out of her face. Clary looked at him and fluttered her eyes unconsciously.

"I wanted to thank you so much," Clary said gratefully, "I would hug you, but that doesn't seem like a good idea."

"It's no big deal. If I was going in, I wouldn't want it to be with anyone but you."

Clary smiled. "Do you think we can make it out?"

"Of course we can. You're a superb healer, I'm not a bad hunter, and those other two probably aren't completely useless," Jace reasoned.

"Let's get you patched up."

"This food is wonderful," Clary said. Her voice was muffled by the food in her mouth.

"Umhm," Isabelle added. Though three out of the four of them had grown up in merchant families, none of them but Isabelle had ever had close to enough to eat. Even then, the mayor's daughter didn't have much. The apothecary shop wasn't a great source of income, for the Fray's and Clary had never once met her father. Jace lived in town with his family not too far away from Clary. His mother owned a cloth shop and his father made the choice to work in the mines. Simon was a whole different story. He lived in the Seam with his mother and older sister Rebecca. His mother and sister found work doing odd jobs for the wealthy families and Simon helped Clary on busy days in the shop.

"What is it?", Jace said, lifting up a piece of the meat on his fork.

"Chicken," Hodge replied. Clary knew people that owned chickens, but they didn't eat them. The kept them inside of a small coop in their backyards and collected the eggs that they laid.

"Eat up. You'll need your strength," Aline commented.

"So, um, what's the plan?", Clary asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the room.

"Tomorrow you will meet your prep teams and go through all of your basic preparations. That afternoon you will start training. Now, training will go on for three days and you need to fit in as much as you can without giving away your major strengths and weaknesses. You'll be scored on the third day of training and interviews will follow that. Then the next day you'll be in the arena," Amatis explained. The four teens nodded.

"So we should rest?", Isabelle suggested. Amatis nodded in agreement and Isabelle stood up from her chair, "Then I suppose I'll go to my room."

Clary stared after her, then locked eyes with Jace. "I think we will too. I'm tired, aren't you Clary?"

"Yes," she replied and set her utensils down on the olive green silk napkin. They walked together to their room and stopped at the door.

"You should stay in my room," Jace suggested. Clary smiled slightly.

"I don't really want to be alone. That sounds good," she replied. She entered Jace's room. It was identical to her own.

"What's that thing for?", she thought out loud, wandering across the bedroom towards a small touchscreen monitor with a keypad. "Jace, look at this!", Clary exclaimed, scrolling through the list of food that was available. She stopped on a picture of a dark brown block. "What is that?"

"This thing says it's called chocolate," Jace replied.

"I want to try it," Clary stated, clicking on the picture. She learned that by doing that and pressing the big green button, she could have it delivered to her room.

"This is so good," Clary said, sticking another piece into her mouth.

"You're going to make yourself sick, Clare," Jace added, taking her out of her hand and setting it down on the table beside the bed. Clary yawned and leaned backwards.

"I know I shouldn't be able to sleep, I mean I just found out that we're going into the Hunger Games," Clary said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Well it's not like you can change that by worrying about it and not sleeping, and I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep," Jace added.

"Goodnight, Jace. Love you," Clary said between yawns. Like a brother, Jace thought to himself. He had been harboring a crush on his best friend for years.

"I love you too, Clarissa Fray," he replied. But not in the same way that you love me.

_Clary_

Clary woke up early the next morning. Her arm was stuck underneath Jace, making it so she couldn't move. "Jace," Clary groaned, shaking him with her free arm.

"What."

"Get off of my arm," Clary continued.

"Pushy," he mumbled, rolling over and off of Clary.

"I have to get back to my room to change. I'll meet you outside in five minutes," Clary called, walking out of his room and crossing the hall to her own.

She changed into the tight black pants and shirt that someone must have placed on her bed while she was with Jace. "Clarissa! It's time to meet your prep team!", Aline called from the other side of her door. Clary gathered her hair up into a messy ponytail and met Aline at the door.

"Let's go, Clarissa."

**A/N:**** Well, this is just a random thing I thought of today. I don't know if I'm continuing it, so review/follow/favorite if you like it! **


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: _****Thank you all so much for the reviews! As you can see, the more reviews/follows/favorites I get the faster I update. I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

"This is where you'll be prepped from now until the games," Aline explained, leading Clary into a cold, silver room. There was a set of chairs that lined the opposite wall and a metal cot that sat a few feet away from her. The harsh lighting wasn't doing Aline's clownish makeup any favors and it hurt Clary's eyes, causing her to squint and it made her eyes water. "This is your prep team. Magnus, Camille, Seelie, and Lillith, this is your tribute. Clarissa, you'll be getting to know these people pretty well. Make yourself acquainted."

With that, Aline left. "You can call me Clary," she continued awkwardly.

"I'm Magnus Bane, dear. I'll be your stylist. Sit down, sit down. Camille, Lillith, Seelie, get me my supplies," Magnus said with a wave of his hand. He lifted a lock of her hair between his fingers.

"Your hair color is to die for, and with the right care, those curls will be perfect," Magnus continued, "We will need to trim your hair of the split ends first."

He rolled Clary's chair in front of the mirror and took out a scissors. He carefully clipped about an inch of hair and it fell to the ground. Clary had only gotten a few haircuts in her life and they were done by herself. She didn't trust anyone else with her hair. But then again, Magnus did seem highly qualified. "Perfect," he muttered. "Your skin is surprisingly well taken care of for a District Twelve resident. Very smooth," Magnus added.

"My mom and I ran an apothecary shop, so we weren't short on salves," Clary explained. Magnus nodded slowly.

"That makes sense. We'll wash you up and wax your legs and eyebrows. Then Camille and Seelie will take your measurements for your costumes and dresses. We will finish with some basic hair care," Magnus explained. He directed her to the metal cot and told her to sit. As he gathered all of his tools, Clary got a good look at him. His hair was left it's natural color and it's was cropped stylishly. He would almost look normal if it wasn't for the eyeliner and the glitter that covered his face and clothes. His eyes were a cat like gold color and looked he foreign.

An hour later, Clary was bare of any hair that wasn't on her head and her legs were swollen and raw. Magnus massaged an oil like hair product onto her curls, instantly smoothing them and making them shine. "You look wonderful. I'll send you with Seelie and Camille for your measurements now," Magnus said. The two girls entered the room on cue and lead Clary to another room just down the hall from her prep room. She saw Isabelle inside and smiled at her. She mouthed "help" in reply and Clary smiled and stood next to her.

"This is terrible," Isabelle exclaimed in a loud whisper.

"It can't be that bad," Clary replied.

As it turns out, Isabelle hadn't been exaggerating. It really was that bad. Clary was being poked and prodded with pins and she could feel at least five pairs of hands on her.

"Clarissa, stand up straighter," Camille ordered impatiently. Clary rolled her eyes and straightened her back.

"Not that straight," Seelie groaned. Clary sighed. Isabelle glanced at her and smirked. Clary stuck her tongue out at the brunette and turned back to face her team.

_Isabelle_

Isabelle had woken up to the sound of knuckles rapping against her door. "Iz! Aline sent me to wake you up."

She recognized the voice as Simon Lewis, one of her three tribute partners. She rolled out of the bed and walked to the door. He smiled when they locked eyes. She had to admit, he was pretty cute. His eyes were a shade lighter than hers; almost like coffee. His hair was dark brown and his curls were sticking up in every direction; evidence that he had just woken up recently. His cheeks were hollow from lack of food, but he still managed to look happy and glowing despite his family's situation. Unlike most of the people that lived in the Seam, he didn't seem to despise her because of who her parents were and the privileges that she had. "Good morning," he mumbled with a crooked grin. She couldn't help but smile back.

"Good morning, Simon."

He stared at her awkwardly before cocking his head to the side and placing his hand on the back of his neck. "Aline sent me to wake you up, you're up, so I'm going to leave now."

Isabelle laughed and shook her head as Simon jogged down the hall towards the dining car. She quickly changed into the black pants and shirt that were set out for her and brushed her black hair back into a sleek ponytail. She headed down the hall in the same direction Simon had went. "Isabelle, Isabelle. We need to get you to your prep team right away," Aline urged. Isabelle followed behind her obediently. Reluctantly, she stepped into the prep room and prepared herself for what was to come.

_Clary_

"Now, you'll go to lunch with your fellow tributes and then proceed to the training room. I'll see you tonight," Magnus informed her. She smiled and was lead from the room by Seelie. Her and Isabelle met up with Jace ad Simon on their way to meet their mentors.

"I'm so sore," Clary exclaimed.

"So am I," Isabelle added.

"I'm not," Simon an Jace said in unison.

"Isn't that wonderful for both of you," Clary said sarcastically. Jace slung his arm over her small shoulders.

"Cheer up, Clare. It can't be that bad."

"I beg to differ," Isabelle muttered, pulling up the leg of her sweatpants and revealing her red, swollen leg.

"That is pretty bad," Simon agreed.

"Come along, children," Aline screeched. As soon as she turned around, Jace covered his ears with his hands mockingly. Clary grinned and Isabelle rolled her eyes at Jace's childlike antics.

"When lunch is over, you'll be joining everyone else in the training center," Amatis explained.

"What if we don't know how to use anything?", Clary asked nervously.

"Then you'll have to learn fast," Hodge replied. Amatis elbowed him in the side and shot him a glare. Then she turned back to face Clary.

"There will be instructors available to help you. Try to make some friends while you're there. We've thought about splitting you up into two groups; Miss Lightwood and Mr Lewis, Miss Fray and Mr Herondale. That way you are spread out. It's harder to work with bigger alliances, so once the other members of your smaller alliances are eliminated, you'll all form a group and take out the rest," Amatis continued. Clary nodded. She was trying her best to absorb every bit of information that she could gather. Amatis looked at her watch.

"I'll walk you all down to the training center," she said. The group of four stood up and followed closely behind their mentor.

The room was stocked full of deadly looking weapons that Clary hadn't the slightest idea how to use. Jace must have saw the nervous look on her face, because he nudged her with his elbow. "You'll be fine. Just stay by me, and we can learn how to use them together," he whispered.

Clary nodded in reply as scanned the small crowd for possible allies. Her heart dropped at the sight of a small boy, probably no older than twelve. Clary made a mental note to invite him into their group. As soon as the main instructor finished her speech, Jace and Clary took off to the station nearest to them. "Jace, I want him in our alliance," Clary whispered, gesturing towards the small boy that was struggling to pick up, let alone hold any kind of weapon.

"Really, Clary? He'd just weigh us down," Jace reasoned. Clary widened her eyes pleadingly.

"But Jace, look at him," Clary argued, "He deserves a little bit of a chance."

"Fine," Jace replied. Clary smiled.

"Can we go to the plant station first?"

"Why not."

"This is poisonous. Don't eat it," Clary explained to Jace, picking up a small white flower.

"So specific today, aren't we," Jace said sarcastically.

"It's called wintersweet. It originates from an old country. Not anywhere near here. I can't remember what it was called though," Clary continued, ignoring Jace's comments, "It will kill you before it even hits your stomach."

"May I ask why you've studied plants from countries that don't even exist anymore?", Jace asked. Clary shrugged.

"Now it's found in some of the warmer, more desert like districts. A healer's got to be prepared."

She moved on to the next plant that was set out on the table. It was small with broad, green leaves and it was growing in a small container. "Aloe? I've never actually used it before; they don't grow wild in colder areas. It has useful healing properties when applied to minor cuts and burns," Clary explained. Jace nodded, though he didn't understand a word that she was saying.

"Jace, are you even listening to me?"

"Umhm," Jace replied, staring at her. He couldn't help but notice how cute she was when she was frustrated.

_I'm in deep_, he thought to himself.

**_A/N: _****So, can you guess what country's climate and landscape the arena will be based on? Leave your guesses in a review! I had to research for this chapter, so good luck figuring it out :) Thanks for all of the encouragement! **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**** Thank you to everyone who guessed, but the answer was... I can't reveal that until the games! Keep guessing! **

_Simon_

He watched as everyone turned to stare at Isabelle. She was by far the most beautiful girl there, and everyone knew it. Her black hair didn't resemble the usual color of the townsfolk. Her hair was the color of coal like a girl from the Seam, while most of the merchant's and richer residents of the district had blonde hair. Her eyes were a brown, almost black color like his. Her hair looked perfect even hours of training and she seemed to have not sweat at all. "Where do you want to start?", she asked cheerily.

"Archery," Simon suggested. He had at lest some experience using a bow and arrow. He hoped that Isabelle would have some knowledge of weapons, but he doubted it. She would have had no reason to think that she would ever be thrown into the games.

"Hold onto it with your left hand," Simon instructed. He was trying and failing to teach Isabelle how to use the bow. Either Simon was a terrible teacher or she didn't want to learn. Simon guessed that it had to be the first explanation. She was trying hard, but she didn't seem to grasp the concept easily.

"But I'm right handed," Isabelle said, confused.

"Which is why you'll pull the string back with your right arm. It's stronger."

"Oh."

He stood behind her and held the hand grip of the silver bow. It was different from anything that he had used back home. These were made from a silver metal unlike the wooden one he had grown accustomed to. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and rested his hand on top of hers, on the string. "Now pull it back," Simon muttered, "Keep the arrow straight. Let go."

They both took their hand off of the string and watched as the arrow hit the right side of the target. Simon smiled at her. "Good job."

He watched her expression change from focus to pride. "Thanks."

"Where to next?"

"The whips," Isabelle replied. They approached the empty station and she picked up the weapon.

"Woah, do you even know how to use that. Be careful," Simon stated. Isabelle laughed.

"I'll figure it out. It's just a little string," Isabelle replied.

"It's a little string that can chop someone up into little pieces!"

"Iz, let's put that down," Clary said, gently taking the weapon from her hand. Isabelle frowned.

"I was going to use that."

"Let's get some help from an instructor first," Jace added.

"Hold the handle here," said the station's instructor, Kaelie. She looked like a Barbie doll and she obviously wasn't skilled enough to be teaching people how to handle dangerous weapons.

"Then what?", Jace said impatiently. She was helping Isabelle learn the basics but she want teaching her anything. She was too busy playing with her hair and staring at Jace.

"Swing it?", she suggested, sounding bored. Jace rolled his eyes.

"Let's go," he said, taking Clary's arm.

_Clary_

"That was a waste of a half and hour," Jace stated as the two walked over to the swords. Clary nodded and pulled her hair over to one side.

"You can say that again. I don't think she's very qualified to be teaching people anything besides makeup and shopping," Clary replied, "On second thought, we don't need anyone else with a makeup job like hers."

Jace nodded and picked up a sword, testing the weight of it in his hand. "Perfect."

He passed it on to Clary, who struggled to keep it in her grasp. "This thing is heavy," she exclaimed. Jace grinned.

"I think that one is to big for you," he said, reaching out and taking it from her.

"Maybe knives are more your thing," Jace guessed.

"We'll see about that," Clary said, picking one up from the rack.

"Act like you're throwing a ball at the target, then flick your wrist and let go," Jace explained.

Clary followed his instructions, took one step with her left foot for balance, and threw the knife. It hit the target with a thud. "Nice."

She turned around and saw a boy that she didn't recognize. "I'm Raphael."

She eyed him wearily. "Clary," she replied slowly, crossing her arms over he chest.

"Clary, let's go somewhere else," Jace said harshly.

"Um, okay?"

He lead her to the station farthest away from the swords and knives. "What was that all about, Jace."

"I don't like how that guy was acting," he replied.

"All he did was introduce himself. Don't be so over protective," Clary argued.

"I'm not being over protective."

"You wouldn't even let that guy talk to me. I consider that to be over protective."

"I'm just," Jace started.

"Just what?"

He shook his head. "Never mind."

"Your training session is finished. Please return to your floors," announced a bodiless voice through the speakers. Clary's eyebrows furrowed.

"How long we're we there? It seems like we just got here."

"Obviously longer than we thought," Jace replied.

* * *

"Girls, hurry, you have a dress fitting right now," Alien said, corralling Isabelle and Clary into the room where they had been measured for the same reason.

"What're they for?", Isabelle questioned.

"Your interviews. Clary, you'll be wearing the red one; Isabelle, you'll be in the blue one," Magnus replied. He handed Clary her dress and gestured for her to try it on. The dress was a dark shade of crimson and made from a smooth, silky material. It was long, and the top had one shoulder strap unlike Isabelle's. It fit her body like a glove and it was embellished with small mirror like fragments on the torso. "You will have to hold your arms out a bit from your dress Clarissa, or you will end up with painful, minuscule cuts on your arms."

Isabelle

Magnus handed Isabelle her dress. Unlike Clary's, her dress was a dark may blue and it reached about mid thigh. It was strapless and simple with a small crystal buttons creating ruches in the short skirt.

"I love it," Clary said, spinning around in front of the mirror.

"You look so pretty," she said to Isabelle.

"Thanks. That color looks really good on you."

"You'll also be wearing these," Magnus continued. He handed Isabelle a pair of dark blue satin flats and Clary a pair of silver heels.

"Why do I get the heels?", Clary groaned. He pat her on the head gently.

"Because you're short."

Clary glared at him. "I'm just vertically challenged."

* * *

"I feel like I'm going to puke," Clary exclaimed. They had just finished dinner and they all had eaten too much too quickly.

"Me too. Clary, can I talk to you in private?", Isabelle said suspiciously. Clary looked at her with a confused expression but followed behind her. "We have a problem."

"What?", Clary asked.

"I think Simon's really cute."

"And that's a problem, how?", Clary replied.

"You know why! This is not the time to be getting crushes on guys and even if we live, my parents would never approve."

Clary rolled her eyes. "If we live, you will be a victor. Who cares what your parents think."

"Me."

"Anyways, he's liked you for a really long time. Just wait until after the games, if that ever happens," Clary reasoned. Isabelle smiled.

"Oh, it will. We've got everything we need. Jace and Simon can kill stuff, you can heal stuff, and we can charm the sponsors. Well, maybe not Simon, but we can work with him," Isabelle said.

"Still, we have to worry about the careers. They've actually had training."

Isabelle waved her hand dismissively. "I'm not worried about those arrogant brutes," she scowled. Clary raised her eyebrows.

"Whatever you say, Iz."

* * *

"Jace, where are we going?", Clary exclaimed. He was leading her up a stairwell and she had no idea where it went or when it ended.

"We're almost there," he replied, with a hint of nervousness in his voice. Clary had never known Jace to be a nervous kind of person. She scaled the last flight of stairs and he opened a door in front of them.

"You thought you could hide it from me, didn't you," Jace stated.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Happy birthday!", Isabelle whisper yelled, popping out from behind a potted plant.

"Why so quiet?", Simon added, emerging from behind her.

"We aren't supposed to be up here, duh," Isabelle replied.

"Thanks guys, but like Iz said, we shouldn't be here so-"

"You're not leaving," Jace interrupted.

"Well then."

"Sit down," Isabelle ordered and pat the area next to her on the bench with her hand.

"Actually, I'm going to go talk with Clary for a minute. You two can stay here and," Jace said with a pause, "Chat."

He took Clary's arm and lead her about as far away from Isabelle and Simon as they could get. "Happy Birthday," he said dumbly, grinning crookedly at Clary.

"Thank you," Clary replied bluntly.

"Um, so, I wanted to give you something, but I didn't really have anything, obviously, so I thought I'd give you this," Jace stuttered, pulling something out of his pocket. "I know this really isn't the best time to tell you this but it might be the only chance I have."

Clary nodded, gesturing for him too keep talking. "Quit it with the suspense and spit it out!", she urged. He shook his head slightly and grinned. For someone with Jace's level of confidence, he sure looked nervous. He was fidgeting with the object in his hand and staring at his feet.

"Happy Birthday," he said, handing her a small piece of metal. She held it up the light and recognized it as the ring he had always worn; the one with his family's symbol. Thinking back, Clary realized that she'd never seen him not wearing it. She shook her head, flustered.

"Jace, I can't-"

"I'm pretty sure you can. Anyways, I don't want anything more than for you to have this, except maybe this," he said, cutting off her protests by pressing his lips to hers. It was quick and gentle, but Clary felt the shock even after he pulled away.

"Did you just...", she stated. Her voice cracked in excitement and was full of her surprise. He smiled at her stupidly.

"Are you okay? You look a bit flustered."

She regained her composure ad started to speak. "So is this the right time to admit that I've had s crush on you for the last twelve years?", she said. He looked at her with a confused expression.

"You're kidding."

"Why would I lie about that, Jace! It was obvious," she exclaimed.

"Well you should've told me," he argued. Clary rolled her eyes.

"While you were busy dating every girl in the district? No way," she replied frustratedly. He looked down at his feet again.

"Maybe I was trying to make you jealous, Clary. Maybe the fact that I could have any girl in District Twelve except the one I actually wanted, the one I loved, upset me. I remember when I saw first you. You probably don't, but it was the most important moment of my life. We were six. You were with your father. I was at the market with my mother. It was raining out, but you just had to drag your poor dad through every single puddle that you could find. He looked frustrated, but he couldn't be mad at you and then I got the courage to talk to you at school the next day and I knew why. You were so sweet and innocent. You didn't care about what everyone else said; you did whatever you wanted and you had an opinion about everything. Then he died and you changed and I hated it. I hated seeing you put up that wall and retreat back into this shell that you'd created and I couldn't stop it no matter what I did. You weren't the carefree, bubbly six year anymore and the fact that I couldn't do anything to fix what happened- It hurt. Because he was gone and no matter what I did, he wasn't coming back and there was no way for me to fix it."

She stared at him in shock. He was so oblivious. She thought he knew and chose to ignore the fact that she was in love with him, when in reality he didn't know at all. Now they could possibly die without having a chance. Could this get any worse, Clary thought.

Jace shook his head in disbelief and frustration. "I'm going to go."

He walked away without saying another word, leaving her on the rooftop garden with Simon and Isabelle. Yes, this could get worse.

"What the hell just happened," Clary whispered.

* * *

_"Jace! Stop it," Clary squealed and tried to wiggle out of his grasp. He laughed and continued to tickle her mercilessly. They were at their spot; below a pine tree on the outskirts of District Twelve. He finally set her down and leaned back onto the tree. The two nine year olds sat side by side. _

_"We should name it," Jace blurted. _

_"Name what?", Clary replied, absentmindedly pulling up a small patch of grass and crumpling it between her fingers. _

_"The tree."_

_Clary thought for a moment. "What about The Institute? You know, 'cause you can learn a lot of cool stuff in nature."_

_"Sure. The Institute. I like it. It sounds grown up, don't you think?", Jace continued. Clary nodded in agreement and leaned over onto Jace. She rested her head on his shoulder while he played with her red curls. _

* * *

_"Where were you? You didn't meet me yesterday after school. You were supposed to help me at work," Clary asked as she walked down the school hallway with Jace. _

_"Sorry, Clary. I forgot; I was with Jessamine yesterday," Jace replied apologetically. Clary frowned. _

_"Oh. What did you do?", she continued, masking her frustration. _

_"I took her to The Institute."_

_Clary glared at him angrily. "You can't do that!", she exclaimed. _

_"Why not? It's not like you own it. You can't tell me what to do," Jace argued. _

_"It's ours," Clary said. _

_"I'm sorry, Clare. I won't do it again," Jace replied. _

_"Could you go today?", he continued with hopefulness in his voice. Clary shook her head. _

_"I have to work," she said and quickened her pace. He watched as she walked out of the main doors without him. _

* * *

**A/N: ****I don't know is this is a good chapter but BY THE ANGEL THE MOVIE IS TODAY AND I'M SEEING IT THIS WEEK BUT IDK WHEN. If you've seen it, leave a review and tell me what you thought! I know this is OOC and very dramatic. **

**_-Lauren_**


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh my god, oh my god," Clary screeched, pulling Isabelle into her room.

"What?"

"Jace said that he loved me," Clary muttered.

"Clary! That's so amazing! You know, if we weren't in this situation," Isabelle replied.

"No, because I didn't say anything and he got pissed and left!"

Isabelle looked down towards her shoes. "Yeah, maybe that didn't go very well."

"What do I do?", Clary exclaimed. She had never been in a situation like this, but Isabelle probably had.

"I guess you just pretend that it didn't happen until the games are over?", Isabelle suggested. Clary nodded absentmindedly.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? I'm tired and I'm going to sleep," Isabelle finished. She pat Clary's shoulder and exited the room quietly.

_I need to focus. I can't let myself be distracted by guys. Tomorrow, I'll wake up and get ready and go to breakfast. I'll train by myself. Maybe I'll talk to a few potential alliance members. Let Jace figure it out himself, Clary told herself, he was the one who decided to bring this whole thing up. You're best friends. You'll be okay in the end. _

Clary took a pair of yoga pants and and a tank top from her closet. She had just changed into the outfit and sat down on her bed when she heard a knock on the door. She approached it slowly, wondering who would be knocking on her door this late at night. She looked through the peephole and saw a familiar golden boy standing in the hallway. She swung the door open impatiently.

"What?"

"I'm sorry for storming off like that," Jace stated. Clary raised her eyebrows.

"Okay, I know. Can I go to sleep now?", she replied.

"Not until you forgive me," Jace said stubbornly. Clary rolled her eyes.

"I forgive you. Let me sleep please."

Jace sighed heavily. "Goodnight."

_I messed up, _he told himself, _what have I done?_

* * *

_Clary_

Clary was awoken by rapping knuckles on her door. "Clary."

She walked over and opened her door, trying to straighten out her pajamas and messy hair before Jace saw her.

"Cute," he said with a smirk. Clary glared at him.

"You're the one that woke me up."

"Why such a bad mood?", Jace said sarcastically.

"Why are you in my room?"

"I was told to wake you up," Jace replied unsurely. She shook her head in disbelief and closed the door. Reaching into her closet, she pulled out a white tee shirt and pulled it on over the tank top she had worn the night before. She didn't want to change and it didn't really matter anyways. She ran a brush through her hair and braided it back out if her face. Just as she emerged from her room, Isabelle opened her door.

"Good morning," she chirped.

"Yeah. Really good morning," Clary muttered in reply.

"Who peed in your grain already today?", Isabelle asked, closing her door behind her.

"No one. I'm just really confused."

"How come? Spill, darling," Isabelle said in an extremely authentic Capitol accent.

"He's acting like nothing happened yesterday," Clary said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"That's probably a good thing, at least for now."

"Yeah," Clary said blankly.

"Girls, girls, you're late! You need to get to the training room now," Aline urged, corralling them into the elevator.

"Maybe we should leave Simon and Jace to train together today?", Isabelle suggested as the doors of the elevator closed. Clary nodded.

"That would probably be a better idea than to have me go along with Jace again."

Before they knew it they were down to the basement. They met Simon and Jace by the training room's doorway. "We were thinking that you and Simon could work together and I could go with Clary," Isabelle mentioned to Jace.

"Actually, I was thinking about going off by myself. You know, maybe meet some new people that are actually worth meeting," Jace stated, glancing at Clary. She rolled her eyes discreetly; he was obviously referring to yesterday when she had told him that she wanted the little boy in their alliance. He had went along with it, but that was before she rejected him. On second thought, she hadn't even rejected him. She did the complete opposite. She told him that she loved him more than in just a brotherly kind of way. But he had almost ignored that and went on to confess an undying love for her, followed by a dramatic and rushed exit.

"Um, sure?", Isabelle said uncertainly.

"God, drama queen much?", she whispered as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Who were you guys looking at as potential alliance members?", Clary asked.

"We hadn't thought about it," Isabelle said, looking back between Simon and Clary. Clary smiled.

"What exactly have you two been doing?"

Isabelle blushed slightly. "Um, training?"

"More like flirting," Clary retorted, "Not like that's a bad thing. You know, as long as I don't have to wear a dress to your wedding, I'm fine."

It was Simon who's face reddened this time. Isabelle just smiled. "Oh, I've got just the dress for you, Fray."

"What? Since when have we even been contemplating hugging, let alone getting married?", Simon interrupted.

"We're just kidding, Si. But if you really want a hug that badly," Isabelle replied with a shrug. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around the skinny boy. "There you go."

He grinned crookedly at no one in particular and the three made their way into the training center together. "Where do we start?"

* * *

"What is he doing!", Isabelle whispered yelled to Clary, who was standing next to her in line. She gestured across the room to Jace, who was 'talking' to the girl from One. That is, if what he was doing counted as talking. More like moaning.

"Ew!", Clary exclaimed. She looked at them for a while longer before deciding to interrupt. "Get a room!", she called across the room, with help from Isabelle. She smirked as Jace's face paled. "I'm going to go," Clary whispered to Isabelle as soon as Jace started to approach her.

"Understandable. Run, little red, run,"

Isabelle teased and Clary rolled her eyes, but did just that. Even though she didn't exactly run, it was more of a fast walk. See, I'm not running away from my problem, she told herself. She emerged into the hallway with Jace not far behind.

"Clary."

"Stop, it doesn't matter. It's not like we were best friends, or I loved you. You are nothing to me, Jonathan Herondale. Leave me alone," Clary yelled angrily. He winced as if someone had slapped him. Clary couldn't truthfully say that she regret what she said, but she still didn't feel good about it. She sighed heavily and pushed through the training room doors.

"What happened?", Isabelle exclaimed.

"I might've screamed at him," Clary replied slowly.

"Nice," Isabelle replied, "He so deserved it."

"Let's go practice the obstacles? Those District Two girls were doing flips earlier and I think I could figure it out," Clary suggested. Isabelle nodded in agreement.

"Why not."

* * *

"Attention tributes! You'll be sent back to your floors to prepare with your mentors for the scoring portion of your training," announced the same bodiless voice.

"Are you nervous?", Isabelle asked as she walked to the elevator with Clary, Simon and Jace. Not that she had any interest in talking to him.

"Nope. I'm pretty confident that I can do well," Clary stated.

"What do you think you'll get?", Simon continued.

"Probably an eight," Clary suggested.

"In my opinion, you're overconfident. You'll be lucky to get a five," Jace remarked.

"Why are you being such an ass? I thought you two were best friends," Simon interrupted cluelessly.

"Yeah, Jace, why are you being such an ass," Clary said mockingly.

"Clary, Jace, you'll be preparing with Hodge. Isabelle, Simon, you'll be with me," Amatis explained.

* * *

"Don't do anything to drastic and piss them off. Show them your strengths. Clary, you can heal. Throw some knives. You were doing excellent on the obstacles this morning, so do some flips. Jace, you know what you're good at. Swords, bows, everything. Show them that," Hodge said.

"What if my healing doesn't impress them and I end up-"

"Don't worry about it. You're the only one in this competition who can do that," Hodge reasoned, "You two need to go now. Good luck."

* * *

"I'm nervous," Isabelle exclaimed in the elevator.

"You'll be amazing," Simon reassured her. She smiled at him sweetly and Clary shook her head lightly. They sat down in order on the benches; Jace, then Simon, Isabelle, then Clary.

The tributes entered the room one by one. It had been hours before it was finally Jace's turn. He stood up and looked back at them, his gaze lingering on Clary. She stared back blankly. "Good luck," Simon said simply.

"Yeah."

**A/N: This is short but I really wanted to get it up today! I hope you enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW. It makes my day and it breaks my writer's block. **


	5. Chapter 5

_You and I walk a fragile line_

_I have known it all this time_

_but I never thought I'd live to see it break_

_It's getting dark and it's all too quiet_

_And I can't trust anything now_

_And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake_

_Oh, I'm holding my breath_

_Won't lose you again_

_something's made your eyes go cold_

_Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Something's gone terribly wrong_

_You're all I wanted_

_Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Can't breathe whenever you're gone_

_Can't turn back now, I'm haunted_

_Stood there and watched you walk away_

_From everything we had_

_But I still mean every word I said to you_

_He would try to take away my pain_

_And he just might make me smile_

_But the whole time I'm wishing he was you instead_

_Oh, I'm holding my breath_

_Won't see you again_

_something keeps me holding on to nothing_

_Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Something's gone terribly wrong_

_You're all I wanted_

_Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Can't breathe whenever you're gone_

_Can't turn back now, I'm haunted_

_I know, I know, I just know_

_You're not gone. You can't be gone. No._

_Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Something's gone terribly wrong_

_Won't finish what you started_

_Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Can't breathe whenever you're gone_

_Can't go back, I'm haunted_

_Oh_

_You and I walk a fragile line_

_I have known it all this time_

_Never ever thought I'd see it break._

_Never thought I'd see it._

* * *

"Welcome to the Capitol's recap of today's tribute training scores," announced the interviewer, Caesar Flickerman.

"This guy's still alive? He's like, ninety," Simon exclaimed.

"Capitol medicine," Amatis replied quietly. They were all focused on the screen and a harsh seriousness filled the room.

"First with District One, we have Obsidian with a score of nine," he started. Clary had started to tune out when she saw the familiar face of the little boy pop up on screen.

"From District Eleven, we have Max with a score of," he said with a surprised pause, "Seven."

Clary smiled proudly. She knew she had seen something in that boy. She turned towards Jace and smirked.

"Next, we have District Twelve. We'll start with Jonathan Herondale, with a score of nine," Caesar announced. Everyone except Clary clapped and congratulated him, but he didn't even crack a smile. He just frowned and glanced quickly in Clary's direction. She hated how things were between them. He had never even given her a chance to reply that night on the roof. He was so sure that she wouldn't have had feelings for him. Then, when she told him that she thought he had only thought of her as a sister, he was angry at her for her obliviousness. Then he decided to act like nothing happened. Clary knew she would never fully understand Jace Herondale, and she wasn't so sure she wanted to.

"Next, we have the lovely Isabelle Lightwood with a score of eight," he continued. Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"Ew. He just called me lovely."

They laughed and congratulated her. "Now we have Simon Lewis with a score of nine," he stated.

"Wow, nice!", Isabelle exclaimed, giving him a high five. Clary grinned at her. She knew that they both had a thing for each other, and it showed.

"Lastly, we have Clarissa Fray with a score of," he said with a long, dramatic pause, "Eleven? That's only the second eleven ever received, after Katniss Everdeen of District Twelve."

Clary's jaw dropped and Aline and Isabelle shrieked. "Good job!", Isabelle exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"Congratulations, Clarissa," Amatis chorused.

"How did you do it?", Magnus asked.

"It was nothing special. I just did my thing," Clary said unsurely.

"Well, it must've been something worth an eleven . That's higher than all of the careers," Jace spoke up.

"Congratulations. I have a good feeling about this group. You all seem to be experienced or to have learned skills quickly. Though you should all be off to bed now; we have to prepare for the interviews tomorrow," Amatis finished.

"Who's your stylist?", Clary asked Isabelle.

"His name's Alec. He's a lot less glittery than your's," Isabelle said. Clary nodded.

"Magnus is pretty glittery. He's really nice though," Clary replied. Isabelle looked down almost sadly.

"Yeah. I'll see you in the morning," she finished dismissively and went into her room, closing the door hard behind her.

* * *

_Isabelle_

"_Mom, where's Alec?", said a fourteen year old Isabelle Lightwood. _

_"He had to leave, Iz. He'll be fine," replied her mother, Mayrse Lightwood._

_"Where'd he go to?", Isabelle continued, urging for her mother to give her an answer. _

_"He had to leave," she whispered. _

_"Where'd he go?"_

_"He's in the Capitol. Your father couldn't risk anyone finding out about his," Mayrse said with a long pause, "Preferences."_

_"Mom! How could you let him send him away!", Isabelle screamed at her mother. _

_"It wasn't my decision, Isabelle."_

_"You couldn't stopped him! You bitc-"_

_"Isabelle Sophia Lightwood! Upstairs, now. You will not speak like that to your mother," Mayrse replied angrily. _

_With a final glare, the teary eyed brunette stomped up the stairwell to her bedroom. She hasn't meant to act like a six year old throwing a hissy fit, but to be fair, her parents had just sent her brother away because he was gay and they couldn't risk their reputation. She had went to Alec about everything. Whether it was a bad breakup, the other girls at school making fun of her, a bad grade on a test, or just an overall terrible day, she could always talk to her big brother about it. And now he was gone, probably never to be seen by her again. _

* * *

Isabelle entered the room reluctantly behind Aline. "Miss Lightwood, this is your stylist, Alec Bane."

Isabelle looked up at the man. She would recognize those eyes anywhere. They were a piercing shade of light blue, almost identical to her mother's. He smiled sadly at her, but shook his head as if he was warning her not to say anything.

"I'll be on my way," Aline finished, walking out of the room.

"You can't say anything about this," Alec whispered as soon as the door shut behind her escort.

"I won't. I promise. I missed you though, Alec."

"I missed you too, Izzy. You're so grown up. I'm sorry that this is how we're seeing each other again," he replied.

"Bane?", Isabelle echoed curiously. He thrust out his hand. Isabelle noticed a ring.

"You're married!", Isabelle whisper yelled at her brother.

"Quiet down! And yes," Alec replied.

"To who?", Isabelle questioned excitedly.

"Magnus Bane. He would be your friend Clary's stylist."

"I have a brother in law! Any little nieces or nephews I should know about?", Isabelle continued.

Alec blushed a faint red color. "Um, actually, you have a niece. Sophia," Alec explained. The realization hit her instantly. Isabelle Sophia Lightwood. He hadn't forgotten about her; he named his child after her!

"Oh my god! I have a niece!", Isabelle said enthusiastically. Alec nodded.

"But, we need to get to work. I'm counting on you to get out of this," Alec said with all seriousness.

"I plan on it."

* * *

_Jace_

Jace had trouble falling asleep that night. He knew what was coming the next day. It wasn't that he was nervous; Jace Herondale didn't get nervous over public appearances. That was what he did best. But the content of this public appearance was sure to make Clary never want to speak to him again and it would turn Isabelle and Simon against him.

I'm doing this for Clary's sake, Jace reassured himself.

* * *

_Clary_

"Oh Clarissa, up up up!", exclaimed Isabelle. She felt a soft force hit her face and sat up.

"How'd you even get in my room!"

"It wasn't locked. Get up, we have interviews today," Isabelle exclaimed.

"Yay," Clary replied with mock excitement.

"We have breakfast, then we work with Amatis, then we have prep, then it's time for the interviews!", Isabelle explained.

"You don't seem nervous," Clary said, standing up from her bed that she really didn't want to get out of.

"I'm good with people. So are you. You shouldn't worry about it," Isabelle replied.

After Clary changed into her tee shirt and jeans, the two girls walked down to the dining car.

"Good morning," Aline greeted them.

"Yeah," Isabelle said absentmindedly. She was staring at Simon, who was busily shoving a waffle into his mouth. Clary shook her head slightly, grinning.

"When do we start?"

* * *

"Isabelle, you're a natural!", Aline squealed. She gave Clary a once over. "Miss Fray. Not so much," she said, obviously disappointed.

"I've never walked in these before, may I remind you," Clary retorted, "And Iz doesn't even have to wear them. Why is she doing this?"

Aline sighed. "It's a balance exercise. We can't have you falling down on stage."

Clary's mind was now filled with an image of her sprawled out on the stage, dead after being impaled with the heel of her shoe. She shuddered. "Well it's a stupid balance exercise," Clary replied.

"Just go with it," Isabelle whispered.

Clary rolled her eyes and started to walk across the room. She carefully placed each foot in front of the other until she was steadily balancing on the seven inch high heels.

"Great job, Clarissa. You'll be leaving those on for the day to make sure you can walk correctly in them," Aline chirped.

"Shit."

"Clarissa! Language."

* * *

"Jace, you know the plan? I know it'll be hard, but it's for the best. We can't have her distracted during the games. She's the best chance we have at getting you all out, because there's no way that none of you will get hurt at least once," Hodge explained.

"I still don't think that's a good idea," Simon interrupted.

"It's for her own-"

"Don't start this 'it's for her own good' shit with me Jace, you know you're only going to break her down even more. She trusts you, asshole. Even after you were a jerk and walked out and pretended like you never told her that you were in love with her. She's never going to forgive you."

Jace sighed. "That's a chance we will have to take, I guess."

Simon's frown deepened. "Don't you think she's lost enough? You're supposed to be her best friend. You don't tell a girl that you love her, have her tell you that she feels the same way, and then go and say that you have a thing for some complete stranger!"

"Well when you say it like that," Jace started.

* * *

_Isabelle_

"You're disgusting!", Isabelle screeched. She flung the door to Jace's room open and scanned it in search of the blonde idiot.

"I already got the lecture, I don't need it again," Jace called from his bed. His face was shoved into a pillow.

"You are a repulsive, disgusting, idiotic, flea infested asshat!", Isabelle exclaimed.

"I know. Wait, what? Did you really have to go that far with the insults? I have no fleas," Jace retorted.

"How could you do this!"

"I have to."

"No you don't," Isabelle said exasperatedly, "Just because Hodge says so doesn't mean you have to."

"What if it makes him angry? We can't just go and disobey is orders. What if someone gets hurt while we're in there and we need something but he won't send it to us because he's a pissed off teenage girl?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Clary would know what to do. I remember this one time when my brother got really sick. Everyone, even the District's doctor, said he was going to die, but then we went to Clary and her mom and he ended up fine. Clary did all of it, I even saw."

"You have a brother?"

Shit. "Um, yeah. Two."

"I never knew that."

"He's pretty young. Twelve."

"What about the other one?", Jace asked.

"He's nineteen."

Jace nodded understandingly. "But you're still a disgusting pig!", Isabelle called over her shoulder as she walked out of his room. And he didn't deny it, because he knew that what he was about to do would break Clary's heart.

* * *

"Girls, come along," Aline called. Clary and Isabelle followed slowly after the group. Clary was trying to keep her balance, and Isabelle was trying to help Clary.

"Stand here and wait for your name to be called. They'll start with Iz, then Clarissa, then Simon, and we will end with Jace," Aline explained.

Clary stood nervously next to Isabelle while the other interviews took place. They started with the District One girl.

First up was Ruby. She was blonde haired, blue eyed, tall, and skinny. She had curves that made Clary envious, but so did every other girl in this competition. Then there was Em, short for Emerald. Clary decided that she liked her as soon as she answered the first question. She was pretty, with her short, light brown hair and hazel eyes. She was around the same height as Clary and she seemed nervous, unlike Ruby. She was only fourteen, which surprised Clary. Usually the Careers were eighteen, even though Em had made it clear that she wanted to be no part of the Career's group. Third from District One was Obsidian. Clary had to admit, he was handsome. His black hair and eyes were striking and he looked like he could crush her with just one squeeze of his giant hand. Lastly, there was Granite. He was decent looking, but he seemed kind of nerdy, much like Simon. He had revived a nine in training, so he must have some talents.

District Two seemed to pass quickly. The two girls; Crimson and Cinnamon, looked like two girls that Clary hoped to avoid. The District's boys scared Clary to death. Scar and Sebastain. Even their names sounded vicious.

Clary didn't catch the names of the next Districts. She was snapped out of her daze when the little boy from Eleven was called out to stage.

"Welcome, Max. How are you liking the Capitol?", exclaimed Caesar.

The boy looked around nervously. "Um, the people look scary," he replied shakily. The Careers laughed maliciously. All except Em, who scanned the group of tributes. She caught Clary's eye and smiled. Clary smiled back. She knew she wanted this girl in her alliance.

Caesar chuckled. "Really? I'm sorry. Now, during training you scored a seven. I bet people are wondering how that happened," Caesar continued.

"It's a secret," Max said matter-o-factly. Caesar laughed again.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see then, won't we folks! Now, for alliances. Anyone that you've been interested in teaming up with?"

Max glanced down at the floor nervously. "I don't think anyone would want to team up with me."

The buzzer went off and Clary was upset. She wanted to run up to him and give the poor boy a hug. Luckily, he walked past her on his way out. "Max," she blurted. He turned around unsurely. "Allies?", Clary said, sticking out her hand for him to shake.

He grinned at her and took her hand. "Allies."

His mentor called for him and he gave Clary one last bright smile before he left. "That was so cute," Isabelle exclaimed, "I don't even have allies yet."

"You'll find some. Probably guys," Clary teased.

"Would you two shut your mouths for five seconds?", Jace whisper yelled at them.

"Maybe if you could stay out from in between girls' legs for five seconds!", Isabelle retorted. She was still very pissed about what Simon had told her this morning. Clary and her had grown close over the past few days. Jace glared at them and turned back around. Clary wiped her palms on her silken dress and tried to figure out why she felt like crying. Maybe it was the nerves, maybe it was the fact that over these past few days she had basically lost her best friend and possibly her life.

"Now, from District Twelve, welcome Isabelle Lightwood!", Caesar introduced.

"You can do this," Clary reassured her. Her friend smiled at her and sauntered onto the stage confidently. Clary felt even more nervous and unfocused without Izzy by her side. She stumbled and Jace caught her arm. She shot him a glare, even though he was trying to help. "Don't touch me."

He recoiled and the buzzer sounded. Clary's stomach was in her throat. "Good luck, Rissy!", Jace whispered. Rissy. That was what he had called her when they were little and she couldn't believe he remembered it.

"Now, the small girl with the score of eleven, Clarissa Fray!"

She took a step out into the bright lights that blinded her. The surge of cheers from the crowd boosted her confidence and she strode across the stage in her heels without a single wobble. She smiled brightly at the crowd and waved like she had seen the girls from One do. "Welcome, Clarissa! How have you been since your arrival at the Capitol?", Caesar asked enthusiastically.

"I've been wonderful, thank you for asking, Caesar. But please, call me Clary," she gushed.

"Okay, Clary. So about that eleven. We're you surprised?"

"Of course not. I know not to underestimate my skills," she replied with a hint of arrogance.

"You're confident, I see. You have a good reason to be. You look beautiful tonight," Caesar continued. She mentally shuddered, but smiled for the cameras.

"You look nice as well. Of course, I must thank my amazing stylist, Magnus Bane. He's just been absolutely wonderful ever since I arrived," Clary exclaimed. She looked through the crowd for his glittery face. He was smiling and she smiled back.

"What do you think are some of your advantages going into these games, Clary?", Caesar questioned.

She smirked. "If I told everyone, they wouldn't be advantages, would they Caesar?"

He chuckled. "I guess not, Miss Fray. Now, one last question before you go. Is there anyone special waiting for you back home?"

"Besides my mother and little brother? No."

"Ah, Mr. Jonathan Fray. Isn't it true that your District partner volunteered for him?", Caesar continued. Clary nodded.

"You know what I mean. Any special guys back home?"

Clary blushed and shook her head. "Pretty girl like you, there has to be someone," Caesar urged.

"There's this one guy I've been friend with for as long as I can remember. I plan on talking to him when the games are finished."

* * *

_Jace_

That was the sentence that broke his heart into tiny pieces. She loved him, and he loved her, and yet he chose to betray her. "You'll be a victor, he'll have to agree to go out with you," Caesar teased.

Clary smiled and the buzzer sounded. It was Simon's turn, then his. Clary exited the stage. He grabbed her arm as she walked past. "What!"

"Clary, what I said that night on the roof, it was all true. There is no pretending. I love you, and I'll love you until I die, and if there's a life after that, I'll love you then. Remember that," Jace said sincerely, looking into her eyes. He could see the adoration in her deep green eyes.

"Jace, I love you too. Always and forever."

And with that she was gone. Simeon's interview passed quickly and before he knew it, Jace was being called to the stage. "Welcome, Mr Herondale."

"Thank you, Caesar," he said, flashing a charming smile towards the crowd.

"It looks like you have fans," Caesar stated.

"I guess so. It comes with the looks," Jace said arrogantly.

"I see, I see. You scored an eight, would you like to tell us about that?"

"I wouldn't want to give away too much, but I'm pretty lethal. I have no doubts that District Twelve will make it out alive," Jace stated.

"So Jace, handsome lad like you, are there any girls waiting for you back home?"

"No," Jace replied, shaking his head.

"That can't be true," Caesar contradicted.

"It is. There is one girl here, though. It's too bad that she'll have to end up dead for me to make it out. I mean, that blonde from One is really hot."

The buzzer sounded and he breathed a sigh of relief. The sooner he could explain to Clary what happened, the better.

* * *

_"What do you mean?", Jace asked Hodge. _

_"We can't have you and Clary together. The ladies in the Capitol, they love you. You're more likely to get sponsors, particularly rich women, if you're not in love with that dull red head."_

_"She's not a dull red head! She's my best friend and the most beautiful girl I've met in my life," Jace argued. _

_"You'll have to get over it. If anyone asks, you've got a thing for that District One slut. She's going to end up dead anyways, so the crowds will know it's just a plot to get in with the Careers, but they're to stupid to realize it," Hodge reasoned. _

_"She's going to hate me," Jace whispered. _

_"She's either going to hate you, or end up dead. Your choice," Hodge finished. _

* * *

_Clary_

Isabelle wrapped her arms around me for support. I saw a flash of blonde out of the corner of my eye. "I'll take the shoes, you run," Isabelle whispered. It was nice to know that someone knew what she was going through. She kicked off the heels and took off down the corridor. Clary heard his footsteps pounding behind her, but she just ran into the open elevator and slammed her fist blindly into the close door button.

_Liar, liar._

**A/N: ****Clace sadness. At least, Clary thinks so. The song at the beginning is Haunted by Taylor Swift. Will Jace apologize? Will Clary forgive? This is the longest chapter yet! To be continued...xoxo, Lauren**


	6. Chapter 6

_When I look into your eyes_

_It's like watching the night sky_

_Or a beautiful sunrise_

_Well, there's so much they hold_

_And just like them old stars_

_I see that you've come so far_

_To be right where you are_

_How old is your soul?_

_Well, I won't give up on us_

_Even if the skies get rough_

_I'm giving you all my love_

_I'm still looking up_

_And when you're needing your space_

_To do some navigating_

_I'll be here patiently waiting_

_To see what you find_

_'Cause even the stars they burn_

_Some even fall to the earth_

_We've got a lot to learn_

_God knows we're worth it_

_No, I won't give up_

_I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily_

_I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make_

_Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use_

_The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake_

_And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend_

_For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn_

_We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in_

_I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am_

_I won't give up on us_

_Even if the skies get rough_

_I'm giving you all my love_

_I'm still looking up, still looking up._

_Well, I won't give up on us _

_God knows I'm tough enough _

_We've got a lot to learn _

_God knows we're worth it _

_I won't give up on us_

_Even if the skies get rough_

_I'm giving you all my love_

_I'm still looking up_

* * *

"Clarissa Adele Fray! Open the door!", Jace pleaded.

"Not to save my damn life, asshat!", Clary yelled.

"Leave her alone," Isabelle sighed.

"I can't," Jace replied.

"I warned you about this. You shouldn't have done it. Get to sleep, the games are tomorrow," Isabelle lectured.

Sleep never came. He sat silently outside of Clary's door. Every time he heard another one of her muffled sobs, he wanted to scoop his eyes out with a spoon. Okay, maybe that was a tad overdramatic. After hours and hours of waiting, he fell asleep in front of the door.

* * *

"What the hell!", Clary exclaimed. She pushed her door and leaned on it with all of her body weight.

"Jesus," Jace groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head where Clary hit him with the door.

"Get away from my room!", she exclaimed, pushing the door into him again.

"Ouch!"

"Clare, go change your clothes and meet me for breakfast," Isabelle called over her shoulder. Clary slammed her door shut and went to her closet. She took out a pair of black leggings and a dark green long sleeved shirt. She knew she wouldn't be wearing it long; she would have to meet Magnus and get the outfit required for the arena. Reluctantly, she took the ring that Jace gave her from the table. She wasn't going to leave it here. She opened her door to find Jace across the hall.

"Get away from me," Clary said. By now she was almost running done the hallway barefoot. She had forgotten to put on shoes.

"Clary, you don't understand-"

"I don't understand what? That you're a lying man whore? Because I'm aware of that," Clary hissed.

She stormed into the dining car and sat down next to Isabelle. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Clary whispered.

"Thank you for joining us, Miss Fray," Aline said, annoyed.

"Always a pleasure, Aline," Clary replied sarcastically.

Clary took an apple from a dish in front of her and sipped her water slowly. Her nerves had just started to set in and she felt as if any food she ate would be making a reappearance later. "You will be entering the arena today," Amatis said.

"You'll have to finish eating so you can meet with your stylists. You all know the plan, correct?", Hodge stated.

No, they weren't going by that plan, at least Clary wasn't. Work with Jace? No thank you. Jace could go off with his District One girlfriend for all she cared. But she nodded and went along with it just for now.

"Clary? We're going," Isabelle said, shaking her friend out of her daze.

"You still wore it," Jace whispered, shocked.

"Of course I did," Clary replied and followed Isabelle down the girl's hall.

"I'll see you in a few days. Stick with Si," Clary said, pulling Izzy in for a hug.

"You know, you're going shopping with me as soon as this is over," Isabelle stated to lighten the heavy mood. Clary laughed.

"Sure."

* * *

Isabelle disappeared into her prep room and Clary lingered in the hall a few seconds before joining Magnus.

"You've got this in the bag, Clarissa. Now just try not to mess up that pretty hair of yours while your at it," Magnus joked. He handed her a bag full of the clothes she would be wearing in the arena. There was a pair of thin black cargo pants that Magnus told her would block some of the sun from burning her skin. There was a soft, green short sleeved shirt and a thin jacket made from a crunchy material (that Magnus said was also to protect from sun but insulate body heat at night). It was finished off with a pair of black leather boots that molded onto her feet perfectly. She tucked her pant legs into them and laced up the boots.

"It's the arena, Clary, and you look like a model."

"Well, it is going to be on television," Clary joked. Magnus braided her hair back out of her face and tied it with a black band.

"You'll be okay," Magnus said, kissing her hair.

"I'm going now?", Clary said nervously.

"Yes, dear. I'll see you later, okay?", Magnus said. She hugged him tightly and he lead her to the tube that would lift her to her possible death.

She stepped in, and Magnus blew her a kiss as the doors closed. This was real, and it was happening now.

* * *

The bright light and swirls of dust caused Clary to blink furiously. She observed her surroundings and realized that she was in some kind of savannah terrain. Of course, she thought, the wintersweet, the aloe, it was obvious. It should have been obvious. Those plants are native to old Africa. She glanced around at her competitors. She planned to find Max and get them out of here. Clary needed to at least grab a pack, which was a convenient choice. There was one laying to her right, only twenty feet away. Clary had always been fast and now she needed to use that to her advantage.

"Five. Four. Three. Two," the announced bellowed. She caught Jace's eye for a split second and he made a gesture with his head.

"One."

Clary remained on her plate for a second after the commotion started. What was Jace trying to tell her? She shook it off sprinted towards the bag. Scooping it off of the ground, she caught Max's gaze and gestured for him to follow her. Clary could see clusters of green on the horizon and that's where she needed to be; where she could find shelter. "Max!", she called to the small boy. For someone with such short legs, he was awfully fast.

"C'mon," Clary said, leading him in front of her. She slung the bag over her shoulders and ran off towards the trees.

"Max! Max, don't move," Clary muttered.

There was a snake directly in front of them. "Back away," Clary whispered, "Don't take your eyes off of it for a second."

They walked backwards slowly. "Run," Clary mumbled. They turned and sprinted in the opposite direction. Most tributes had either cleared out or were still at the bloodbath.

"That, my little friend, was an African Rock Python," Clary explained. "You see those trees over there? We need to get to those. Try to stay hidden in the grass; watch for snakes and animals."

Clary bent over, grateful that she was small and so was Max. She pushed her way through the grasses, making a path for Max. She stopped for a second to pick a plant and put it in the pocket of her bag. "What's that", Max asked.

"This is Caralluma. It's an appetite suppressant, so it'll make you less hungry. That should be useful," Clary said. She plucked three leaves and stuck them in her bag.

"There's lion mutts out here, okay? If you see one, you don't make any noise. You don't move," she added.

"Go," Clary said. She ran through the grass as fast and as quietly as she could before she tripped.

Over a girl. "What the hell," she whispered yelled. She pushed herself up and scanned the ground with her eyes. "Emerald?"

"Clarissa," she groaned. Clary decided to take a chance. She knelt down next to her, completely hidden in the grass.

"What happened?"

"I got a cut," she mumbled, lifting up her arm.

"You're lucky it didn't hit a major artery, but that's still a lot of blood. Come with me and I'll fix you up once we find a shelter, okay? Allies?", Clary replied.

"Yes," the girl replied, slightly smiling at Clary.

"Lean on me," Clary said, propping up the girl on her shoulder while still bending over and pushing through the grasses.

Is it turned out, these weren't just trees. This was a full blown jungle. The terrain had made the drastic change from savannah to rainforest.

"Jeez, Max, be careful," Clary exclaimed as the boy tripped over a root.

"I'm trying," he replied.

"Keep watch, will you?", Clary said. She leaned Emerald up against the tree.

"This might hurt, okay?", Clary whispered.

She took a fuzzy, moss like leaf and wrapped it around the girl's wrist. "I don't have any water to wash it out right now, but we can look for some," Clary explained.

The girl nodded. "I'm going to go through my bag, then we'll have to hunt and find a water source."

Clary unzipped the front pocket carefully. She reached her hand in, taking out a brown plastic tarp, a water pouch (empty, of course), and a long rope.

The large back pocket contained a small blanket, to knives, and a roll of ace bandage. "We lucked out, guys."

"That's a lot of stuff," Max echoed.

"And it's useful. Now, Em, do you have experience with knives?", Clary said. She was handling being in charge well.

I am the oldest and this is my responsibility, she told herself.

"Now let's go look for water."

* * *

"Simon! What are you doing," Isabelle whispered yelled. She was having a hard time containing her giggles.

"I fell," he muttered. His olive complexion was tainted by a faint pink blush and Isabelle reached her hand out to him.

"Thanks", he mumbled. Isabelle beamed.

"You're welcome."

"We should probably find water before we do anything else," Simon said awkwardly.

"Sure."

They started to walk through the woods; not weaponless of course. Simon was armed with a bow that had nearly cost him his life, but he was still here, wasn't he? Isabelle had two knives; one in her pocket and one poised skillfully in her hand. She had coiled a silver, snake like whip around her wrist that Simon had thought to grab while he was near the Cornucopia. He was skeptical about letting Izzy use it since she had no experience, but she needed to have something to defend herself with.

"Look for plants," Simon stated.

"I thought we were looking for water," Isabelle mumbled.

"The plants are going to grow around the water," Simon said, chuckling.

"Right," Isabelle muttered with a blush. They continued down the trail in a seemingly hopeless attempt to find water.

"Simon!", Isabelle exclaimed. "Look."

She pointed to a small pool that could've only been labeled as a puddle. But water is water. "Thank the angel," Simon said breathily, "Good job, Izzy."

Isabelle slipped her hands into the pool, making a bowl shape. She lifted her hands to her mouth, drinking the water eagerly. "It's clean," she exclaimed. Simon laughed at the water that was dripping down her chin and the huge wet blotch on her shirt.

"I'm so happy right now, I could kiss you," Simon exclaimed. He knelt down beside her. Smiling, she turned towards him.

"What's stopping you?", she teased. She encircled his neck with her arms.

"Nothing," he replied, leaning in closer to her. Their faces were inches apart.

There was the sound of a branch cracking behind them. "Looks like we have company," Isabelle whispered, frantically turning around.

* * *

"How many of those losers did you take out, Jacey?", cooed Ruby. She over scooted even closer to Jace.

"Three," he replied.

"Nice job," she said, placing her hand on his knee. She started to trail her fingers up his thigh. "You deserve a reward."

He rolled his eyes discreetly. The only reward he wanted right now was to see Clary and make sure she was okay. By this time, the District One girl was practically in his lap. I'm doing this for Clary, he reminded himself.

* * *

Isabelle turned quickly, grabbed the handle of the whip that was coiled around her arm, and swung aimlessly at the other tribute.

"God damn it, Isabelle!", the voice, now obviously belonging to a girl, exclaimed.

"Clary? Sorry," she replied sheepishly.

"It's okay. That's a nasty welt, though," Clary said.

"We found water," Isabelle exclaimed.

"Correction, Iz found it," Simon added.

Isabelle was beaming. She had always been made to feel unimportant, but now she felt as if she had helped.

"Mind sharing? We've got some friends," Clary continued. "This is Max, and this is Emerald."

Isabelle smiled warmly at the two. "Isabelle Lightwood."

"Simon," he added bluntly.

"Well, we better be on our way now," Clary said, filling the pouch with water. "You know the plan. After these two, you know, I'll find you," Clary whispered into Isabelle's ear as she walked away from the small pool of water.

* * *

After cracking open an aloe leaf, Clary rubbed the inside of the plant on the welt that was swelling up on her arm. "Ouch."

"Was that your partners?", Emerald asked, coming up behind her. Clary nodded. "What happened to the third one?"

That was a good question, Clary thought. "I have no idea."

Where was Jace? She thought she had heard around twenty three cannons earlier today, which made sense because there were twice as many people. Clary assumed that he was alive and with the careers, but she wouldn't know until later that day when the sun went down. Not that it would be long before darkness fell over the arena. "We better find shelter," Clary stated, tossing the used piece of aloe to the side.

* * *

"At this point, the safest thing to do is get up into a tree. We're the smallest people in this competition," Clary explained, approaching a large tree with rather skinny branches on the bottom. She grabbed the branch lowest to the ground and pulled herself up, sticking her foot into a crevice in the bark. "This will work."

She gestured for the other's to follow her steps. They were about forty feet up when Clary stopped. "We'll stay here," she said, sitting down on one of the thicker branches. She took the tarp from the bag and cut it into two large pieces. "Em and I will be over here since we're both girls. You'll be right across from us. We'll use the tarps to retain heat and we will have to tie ourselves in so we don't fall."

* * *

Night fell unnaturally quickly in the arena. The alliance members were strapped tightly to their trees, with Em and Clary on one branch and Max on the other. Clary heard the Capitol music blare and the seal appeared through the leaves. Twenty five people had died in the bloodbath. Only twenty three remained. Jace was one of them. Even though they were fighting, she worried about him. Come to think of it, she didn't know if they we're even fighting. Jace was just acting weird around her. She fell asleep quickly after the faces faded from the starless night's sky, dreaming of leaving this arena.

* * *

**A/N:**** Hey guys! I know this is late and short but I just started school. I'll get back on track in a few days. PLEASE review, it makes me want to find more time to write, which is important during the school year. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: ****I know what you're thinking. I know. I haven't updated in forever! I'm so sorry. I started school, blah, blah, blah. So yeah. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_**Day Two; Total Body Count: 24/48**_

"Clary," Emerald whispered, shaking the redhead furiously. Clary sat up slowly, rubbing the tiredness from her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"A cannon went off," she said.

"It's dark. Don't worry, no one's going to find us. Please go to sleep," Clary said, lying back down.

* * *

Clary never did fall back asleep after Emerald had woken her up. She sat, staring at the intense green leaves that adorned the branches of 'their' tree. "Clary?"

"Yeah, Max?", she replied, yawning and stretching her tired arms above her head.

"What are we going to do now?", he asked, his voice uncertain and nervous.

"We'll try to hunt today," Clary replied, sighing.

"I don't know how to hunt, Clary," Max said disappointedly.

"It's fine, we can help you," Clary said, smiling reassuringly. She didn't even know who she was trying to reassure at this point; Max, or herself. She pulled the band from her hair, shaking it out of it's braid to let the even curlier red strands fall over her shoulders. There was rustling next to her and she saw Em's head pop up out of the leaves.

"Morning," she said, in between yawns. Clary smiled halfheartedly and leaned against the tree trunk.

"Good morning. We better get moving, so pack up," she said, stuffing her tarp into the small backpack, followed by the rope.

"Max, hand me your tarp?"

She took it and folded it into a small square before slipping it into the bag. How was she going to walk quietly through this terrain with a backpack? There were vines, bushes, and grasses everywhere. Add to that the fact that Clary already wasn't a highly coordinated person, and it was a recipe for disaster. "We should get going. I'll take the bag. Emerald, can you use a knife?", she asked, silently hoping that the answer would be yes. Being from District One, she would have to know how to at least use something.

She nodded proudly, outstretching a pale, slender hand. Clary set the polished knife in the girl's palm, zipping the bag closed. She looked over towards Max, who was standing and staring at Clary's face intently with dark brown eyes similar to Isabelle's. "You can stay with me, Max. Two is better than one," Clary said, grinning reassuringly. It was obvious that he felt out of place in the group, being the only one who couldn't handle a weapon. He smiled weakly, nodding his head in an almost unseeable manner.

"Okay," he said, brushing his dark hair from his eyes.

Clary smiled again, nodding subconsciously as she started through the bushes. She made sure that she was in the front and Emerald, the only other person who was armed, brought up the rear. Max was stuck in between the two; not that he really minded.

"Do you feel comfortable splitting up?", Clary whispered to the green eyed girl.

Emerald nodded unsurely, her ponytail bobbing up and down slowly. Though she was fairly confident in her skills, she had never been put into such a risky situation by herself. "I think I can handle myself."

"Shouldn't we make a signal? You know, in case somebody needs help or something?", Max suggested, shrugging his small shoulders.

Clary smiled. "That's a great idea, Max. Good job. Can everyone whistle?", she asked, looking back and forth between her two allies. They both nodded simultaneously as Clary pursed her lips, creating a short four note pattern that echoed throughout the trees. They listened as a few birds, unrecognizable to Clary, caught on and continued singing the tune. "Can you guys do that?"

Emerald and Max imitated Clary's actions and both were able to successfully recreate the signal. "Nice. We'll meet here here once you find something, which shouldn't take long," Clary finished.

She watched as Emerald turned with a nervous grin, swiftly disappearing into the cluster of trees and vines. Clary turned, looking over and down at Max. "Well, it looks like it's time to get started."

* * *

"Herondale. What can you do?", ordered a career boy, probably from District One. Jace couldn't remember.

"What can't I do?", he replied arrogantly, leaning back against the tree.

"Answer the damn question, blondie," the District Two boy snarled.

Jace shrugged. "Whatever I need to do."

The District One girl, Ruby, rolled her eyes. The boys directed their menacing glares towards a now almost frightened Jace. Key word almost. Jace wasn't scared of these careers, it was the whole idea of spending time around them when they could so easily snap his neck that made him realize how stupid this plan was. But now, there was no backing out. "We're hunting, so grab a weapon, Blondie."

* * *

"Simon?", Isabelle yawned, finally awakening from her sleep. Half awake, she brushed her black hair back out of her face and looked towards her still sleeping district partner. She leaned over, shaking his shoulder lightly.

"Simon."

He sat up slowly, propping himself up on his elbow. "Yeah?"

"We need to go, right?", Isabelle continued, standing and grabbing their small bag. It was filled with a bottle of water, a few crackers, and a knife. It didn't seem like much, but it meant everything in this situation.

"Um, yeah, we do," he replied, straightening out his dark mass of curls with his free hand. Isabelle nodded as she slung the bag over her shoulder.

"You think we'll run into Clary and her posse or Jace today?", Isabelle wondered, watching as Simon stood up and brushed the dirt off of his clothes. Right now, they were in the tropical esque portion of the arena. As far as they knew, there were only two portions. Rainforest and desert.

"I hope we don't run into Jace, Iz. I don't want anything to do with those Careers," Simon replied. Isabelle nodded.

"But I wouldn't mind seeing Clary and her allies. They seem nice," Simon continued, on a happier note.

Isabelle sighed. "Exactly. What do we do now? We need food."

Simon seemed to light up at this statement, a grin overtaking his features. This was his forte. "Then we hunt."

* * *

"Max, be careful. There's a ton of vines over here and I don't want you to get stuck," Clary said between panting breaths. He nodded, stepping gracefully through the patch of green.

He makes this look so easy, Clary thought.

"Clary? What was that noise," Max wondered aloud, stopping dead in his tracks. She heard the snapping of a branch, followed by multiple quiet shushes.

"Oh, god," she whispered, grabbing his arm. They ran for probably ten feet before Clary boosted Max up by his feet to the level of the branch and he started to climb. Clary heard the steps grow nearer to them when she jumped to reach the handhold. She glanced behind her and saw a flash of blonde emerge from the bushes. She turned away, not bothering to look at the face. The identity was already clear enough. She only knew one person with that golden hair tone. That's all it took. Something inside of her snapped. Like a rubber band; It felt like something had been stretched too far. This time it was Jace's relationship with the Careers. Using all of her strength, she pulled herself up by her arms and wrapped her legs around the trunk. After she stabilized herself, she reached up for another branch and put her foot where her hand was before. She looked down to see the small Careers alliance below them. She scaled the tree quickly, making it almost to the top. She was about forty feet up, and she finally felt the wave of relief rush over her. They couldn't get them up here. The Careers were too big to make it; Even the girls.

"Max? Are you okay?", Clary whispered. The boy was half hidden by the leaves, fully out of view to the alliance below.

"Yes," he replied shakily, sitting down on the branch.

Clary looked down, avoiding Jace's gaze. His eyes were filled with sadness and regret, pleading and frustration. Clary had never seen him anything but happy, and it hurt knowing that she had caused it. She looked down once, only to break and glare down at him. He turned to speak.

"Don't we need to hunt? They're obviously not coming down anytime soon, and we need food," he reasoned.

Remembering the plan, Clary let out four sharp whistle tones. The Careers paid no attention to her and continued discussing a plan.

"Who do we leave here?", the District One boy exclaimed.

"District Twelve and District One girl," the other boy replied, "They won't be of any use to us."

"But that red head; She's his partner. He could let them go," he argued.

"Do you want to stay here then? That's the only other option," the District Two boy finished, picking up his weapon. "Now, if you're coming with me, let's go. Blondie, Ruby, you're staying here to keep watch," he said, scowling and disappearing through the brush. The District One boy wasn't far behind, and soon enough the four were alone.

Clary sat on her limb, glaring at the tree trunk. Max was leaning patiently leaning against a branch, struggling to keep his eyes open. Jace was perfectly content with staring up at his district partner and her ally. Ruby, the District One girl, was focused solely on Jace. Fed up with the lack of attention, she stood up.

"I'm going to find something productive to do, if you're just going to sit here," she spat, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. Jace turned his head slowly, glancing at the girl.

"Have fun with that."

She scowled impatiently, storming off into the trees. Little did she know that she would pay a heavy price for her irrational impulsiveness. Meanwhile, Jace listened closely for her fading footsteps. As soon as they disappeared from earshot, he inched closer to the base of the tree.

"Clary?", he muttered, testing his voice.

She flinched, not expecting to hear her name. She regained composure quickly and shot him a vicious glare. "Clary," he repeated, louder this time.

"Quiet down, dumbass," she growled, leaning her forehead against the tree.

He smirked slightly, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm awkwardly. "Harsh."

"Quiet down," she repeated, sighing.

"Clary."

"What!", she exclaimed, throwing a hand up into the air.

"We have to leave before they get back."

"We? There isn't a we, Herondale. There a me, there's a Max, there's and Emerald," she replied, "And that's it."

"Clary, come down," Jace continued.

"How do I know you won't kill us? You're not exactly the most trustworthy person I've ever encountered, are you?", she argued.

"If I kill you and I made it out, I'd be shunned forever. Get down here."

Clary rolled her eyes. "Don't make me come get you," he warned.

"Oh my god! Whatever," she exclaimed. "Max, I guess we're going. C'mon."

It took quite a while to get out of the tree. Clary had no problem, but Max was having a hard time finding a place to hold on. Clary felt a rush of relief as Max's feet hit the dirt.

"We have to go."

* * *

**A/N: ****Here ya go! Please review/follow/favorite if you enjoyed this chapter! From now on, I'll be updating once a week (Either Sunday or Monday; I haven't decided.) Thanks for reading, darlings! **

**-Lauren **


	8. Chapter 8

**_Day Two, Continued_**.

"I still hate you," Clary grumbled, leaning her back against the hard rock. Though she was still furious about the situation, Jace's knowledge of the surroundings astounded her. He claimed to have learned from the careers, which she didn't particularly like either. But now, sitting in a small cavern like structure in the desert half of the arena, she was starting to appreciate it. It was nice to be sleeping on solid ground again.

"Harsh," Jace replied, tossing a rock at the other side of the cave. It bounced softly off of the sandy wall, hitting the ground with a thud and spraying dust up in the small area surrounding it.

"Truth hurts," she replied, crossing her arms.

"Guys, quit it," Emerald interrupted from her seat across from Clary. An hour after their escape and many whistles later, the trio had met up with their fourth alliance member. Clary shot a glare in her direction before tracing a pattern in the dust.

"I'm going out for a while," Clary finished, standing up to brush off her pants and head towards the crack in the rocks that they were using as an entrance.

"By the Angel, Fray," Jace muttered, following after her. "Don't move," he said, looking over his shoulder back at Max and Emerald.

* * *

"Clarissa Adele Fray, don't tell me you're still upset about that," Jace groaned, catching up to the steaming redhead. "Your face matches your hair, little red," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Clary rolled her eyes and let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Not helping, Herondale."

"You have got to get over it, at least until the games are over. Then, if we're alive, hate me all you want," he said.

Clary stopped. "Did you hear that?"

"If you're referring to the sound of my patience with you shattering, then yes, I did hear it."

"Jace, stop being a dimwit, and listen to me!", Clary exclaimed. "A cannon, okay, there was a cannon."

"So? People die. It's the Hunger Games, Fray."

"I have four other people that I care about in here. I'm going back to check on Max and Emerald," Clary said, clenching her jaw.

"Who? Rat Face and Mayor's Daughter? They're basically useless", Jace sneered.

"You know what, Herondale?", Clary said, pausing.

"Spit it out."

Clary stood on her tiptoes, leaning up towards his ear. "Fuck you," she whispered. She pulled away and grinned sweetly, knowing that the cameras couldn't have picked up on what she said. Jace stared after her with wide eyes and an open moth, watching her retreating figure slip through the crack in the boulders.

* * *

"Hey, Simon?", Isabelle whispered, walking quietly beside him.

"Yeah?"

"You think we're going to make it out?", she asked.

"Of course."

"You sound so sure," she replied, subconsciously twirling her hair around her pointer finger.

"I am so sure."

"What's that thing?", Isabelle blurted, nodding towards an animal that looked like an ugly cross between a rabbit and a platypus.

"I have absolutely no idea," Simon replied, launching a knife into it's side and watching as a patch of the fur split in a clean line and a stream of blood spurted from the wound.

"Is it even edible?"

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

Isabelle watched as Simon approached the dead animal.

* * *

"We have to get out of this damned desert before sundown," Clary exclaimed, slinging the backpack strap over her shoulders, "It's already getting too cold."

"And stay where, exactly? Your plan isn't very thought out," Jace replied.

Clary's calmed expression turned to a stone cold glare. "You can stay here, but I'd prefer not to freeze to death."

"Whatever. Let's go then," Emerald interrupted.

Between her constant stares directed at Jace and her snarky comments, Clary was starting to become frustrated with the girl. She clenched her jaw and pushed her way out of the cave.

* * *

"Here? Will this work for you all?", Clary sighed. She rested a hand on her bony hip, raising an eyebrow.

"There would be better locations, but this will be good enough," Emerald said scrunching her nose.

"Really? If you have a better idea, lead the way," Clary replied angrily. "Since we have some daylight left, I'm going to go hunting."

She took off, armed with only knives. She still had the backpack, but that wasn't of much use. Honestly, it was only slowing her down and making more noise. Clary inched down the path, listening to the sucking sound that her boots made as she pulled them from the muddy ground. She paused to take inventory of her weapons. In her hand was a knife and in her pocket were two more. Clary heard a rustling in the bushes next to her and stopped dead in her tracks. A small, furry mammal emerged from the leaves and sat down in the middle of the path. She took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers around her mixed with the humidity that filled the air, before she threw her knife at the animal just like she'd learned back at the training center in the Capitol. She was new to knife throwing and her aim wasn't the best, but she managed to hit it's side, resulting in it's death.

"Thank Raziel," she muttered, walking over to pick it up. Clary clutched the bloody animal like a lifeline, which in this situation, it was. She pulled her knife out of it's side, wiped the sharp steel with her jacket sleeve, and stuck it back into the bag.

* * *

The hike back to where she had left the rest of her alliance seemed to take ages. "Why were you gone so long?", Jace nagged as soon as she stepped out of the shadows and into their view.

"I wasn't," Clary replied, "And I was actually doing something productive. I got dinner, if anyone was wondering."

"Thank you, Clary. We really needed someone to do it," Max chimed, obviously trying to break up the fight that was about to take place.

"Thanks Max," Clary replied, although she didn't move her gaze from Jace.

She set it down on a rock, taking the knife back out of the backpack to cut apart the rabbit.

"Ew, you're putting your hand in that thing? That's so disgusting", Emerald exclaimed, covering her eyes with her hand. Jace rolled his eyes and Max just sighed.

Clary ripped the knife through the tough skin frustratedly, cutting it clean down the middle. "Calm down there, Red. Don't ruin it," Jace interrupted.

She shot him a quick glare before returning her focus onto the bloodied animal. "Someone start a small fire please?", Clary asked. Though it was directed at Jace, Max volunteered to do the honors. "I can do it."

"Are you sure? Do you know how?", Clary replied unsurely.

"Of course. I did it all of the time back home," Max reassured her. And he was right. Minutes later, Clary watched the orange flames lick the branches that had been set up in a sort of teepee formation as she skewered thin, pointed sticks through the pieces of meat.

"Nice job, Max," Jace said, ruffling the boys dark curls. Max grinned excitedly.

"Thanks."

Clary couldn't help but smile. It was almost like Jace had taken on the role of Max's protective older brother, like Clary had taken over the role of an older sister or mother for as long as he was still here. Emerald, on the other hand, had went from a sweet, innocent fourteen year old to a snobbish, arrogant girl who was jealous of Jace's slight affections towards Clary.

"Here. Take this," Clary said, handing the first skewer to Jace. "I'll do mine and Emerald's so they're cooked properly, and you can do your's and Max's."

"Sounds like a plan," Jace replied, taking the second stick from Clary with a smile. Clary smiled slightly in return, piercing the final piece with the stick. To be completely honest, she was tired of being angry. She and Jace had been best friends since they had met, and she didn't want to give up on their friendship so easily.

* * *

_"Hey, that was my flower!", Clary exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest and gesturing to the flower that the boy had picked off of the ground to give to her. It seemed to him that she didn't know that it was for her._

_"Oh, sorry," replied the flustered blonde. "I didn't know."_

_"It's okay. I'm Clarissa, but my little brother can't say it, so everyone calls me Clary," she said promptly. _

_"I'm Jace," he answered, nodding his head. Clary watched his blonde hair bounce up and down, giggling. _

_"Your hair is long," she said, slightly scrunching her nose and reaching out to grab a piece of it. _

_"Mine's short, for a girl. My mommy says so grow it, but then it gets tangled in the bushes, you know?"_

_Jace nodded with wide eyes, absorbing every detail of the girl's appearance. She wasn't pretty. The merchant girls that his mother made him play with when she met with their parents were pretty. This girl was stunning, beautiful even. He had never seen hair so red and curly, or skin so freckled and pale. She was short and small and could have easily been mistaken for a five year old, though they were in their second year of school. _

_"Hello? You there, Jace?", Clary said, flicking his forehead gently. _

_"Um, yes, yeah," he replied, snapping out of his daze._

* * *

"Hello? You there, Jace?", Clary asked, hitting his arm lightly, "You almost dropped that stick in the fire. Be careful."

"Yeah, sorry," he muttered, regaining his grip on the wood.

* * *

"Izzy? You ready to stop for the night?", Simon said in between yawns. He was exhausted, and though he knew she would never admit to it, so was Isabelle.

"Uh, I guess. It's late and it will be dark soon," she replied.

* * *

«Third Person»

She was up as soon as she was sure that he was asleep. Making her way through the trees, she knew that there was something she needed to do.

She stopped as soon as the branch made a sharp cracking noise, but it was too late to get out of the way. She felt a sharp pain that was heightened as she fell to the hard ground. At that moment, everything stopped. This is it, she realized, I'm actually going to die.

* * *

**A/N: ****I know this is really short, but I'm tired and I wanted to get it up today. I promise two chapters this week because of my terrible updating routine. The more reviews you guys post, the faster you'll find out who realized they're actually going to die, so review/follow/favorite.**


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